Watson acknowledges Warne, IPL for revivification

Centurion: All-rounder Shane Watson has credited the turnaround to his Indian Premier League stint under talismanic spin wizard Shane Warne.

Australia were crowned the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy winner after Shane Watson's unbeaten century guided the defending champions to asix-wicket victory over a depleted New Zealand in the low-scoring final match on Monday.

"IPL allowed me to come back to the Australian team and it was my turning point to play on Champions Trophy", Watson said

"The captaincy and coaching ability of Warne was a great learning experience. I learnt how to control my emotions," he added.

The all-rounder played under Warne in the Rajasthan Royals team in the first edition and was the most valuable player of the tournament putting up excellent an performance with both the bat and ball.

Watson rated the 105 he scored in Monday night's final as one of the best of his career.

"In 2007 World Cup semi-finals against South Africa, I was really pumped up but didn't do so well. So it's great to be involved in such a great win. It's one of the real highs of my career and very, very special for everyone in the changing room," he said.

CT 2009 | Fixtures | Points | Top10 (R/W)

As an opener, Watson has huge boots to fill with both Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist now retired but he has shown the spark in recent months.

"Hayden and Gilchrist are huge boots to fill. They always got off to fliers and they nearly always came good in big events. Hayden was the top scorer in the 2007 World Cup and Gilly scored that memorable century in the finals.